Biggest Pricing Mistake: Are you making it?

If you itemize your pricing on graphic design proposals — literally listing out what each service costs — it could be time to stop. It’s actually one of the biggest mistakes I see creatives making.

This “Chinese menu” approach subtly implies that your services can be ordered “a la carte”and that clients can pick and choose what they want.

This is never ideal when it comes to creative projects. The client isn’t the expert — you are! You are the one who knows what they need and what does or doesn’t go together.

Plus, when you itemize, you’re giving clients too much info (that they don’t need). It actually lessens your value rather than increasing it. As a matter of fact, when discussing this topic in my recent course, Command the Fees You Deserve, one attendee had an epiphany and vowed never to make this mistake again.

I suspect some creative professionals itemize as a way to justify their price — maybe because you don’t think the clients will see the value you bring to the table otherwise. (That’s a marketing problem, not a pricing problem!)